Scales and Swords ✓

31: A Big Friendly Rebel

When I woke Brise was sleeping on a bed opposite of me, in a windowless room made completely of wood. This wasn't a dungeon, it seemed. My wrist that should have been impaled by an arrow was now bandaged. I rolled off the cloth to find no wounds or scars, as expected. I threw off my blanket and crept towards Brise, keeping my eyes on the door as I did. Whoever had taken us, had taken our shoes as well. A shoe thief. No that made no sense.

"Brise," I whispered. I shook her slightly and her eyes snapped open. Her fist flew towards my face but I ducked in time to miss it. Wide-eyed I raised my hands over my head as I rose. "It's me Mo."

She scrunched her face. "You said your name was December?"

"No, that's my cover name. Did you think that was my real name?"

She sighed and took in our surroundings. "Where are we? And where are my bloody shoes?"

"I don't know. How is your injury?"

"What injury?"

"The arrow, I saw it hit your shoulder."

She scowled. "I need more than an arrow to kill me. It did make me lose my footing however."

The floor suddenly trembled and so did the room. Brise pushed a hand down her dress and pulled out a knife. She carefully stepped out of bed and held the knife across her chest. I held the gem and fixed my stance, preparing myself for a duel. The trembling continued and then it suddenly ceased and the door creaked open. The large tattooed man from town entered.

I dropped my hand, but Brise maintained her stance. "Where have you taken us and where are our shoes?"

The man raised his hands. "I was only trying to help. If I didn't take you, the guards would have taken you instead and lord knows what they'd do to you two. And your shoes are outside, I'll get them for you."

"No," Brise commanded, "first you tell us who you are and why you chose to help us?"

"My name is Tobias Munch and I'm a man who isn't blind to injustice."

A rebel. I put a hand on Brise's shoulder. "I think it's okay," I whispered, "I think we can trust him."

"Not yet," she said, "what do you plan on doing with us?"

Tobias didn't react for a moment but when he did he laughed and for a man his size it reverberated in the small enclosed space. "You're a fierce little one, aren't ya? I'm sorry for laughing. I mean you and your sister no harm."

Oh right, Brise and I were supposed to be sisters.

"I'm just a man who wants to help those who can't help themselves," Tobias said. "My friends and I work together to protect those like your sister. Your parents are gone and I'm guessing you have nowhere to go. If you choose to stay, this can become your home too."

Brise lowered her knife. "This little box isn't much of a home."

Tobias smiled. He pushed the door open to reveal houses built against trees, stairs that spiraled up the trees, bridges strung from one house to the other, people, men, women and children occupying and living out their usual days in their homes.

"Did you build those?" I said, after a moment of being awestruck.

Tobias shook his head. "I told you, my friends and I did."

"It's beautiful."

"Why don't I show you girls around before you make a decision?"

"We'd love—"

Brise pulled me aside and said softly, "one wrong move and I end him."

"No, wait, you can't just kill him." I faked a smile at Tobias.

"Fine we get all the information we need and then I end him."

"Is there a scenario where no one dies?"

Sternly, she said, "no."

"Ok why don't we table this discussion until the guys get here. Then we can talk about who gets to die or not."

She groaned and returned the knife down her dress. "Fine, and for the record I don't like working with you December Jones."

"You know that's not my name right?"

She tsked and turned to Tobias. "Show us this tree town place, you have built."

We stepped out onto the verandah and I caught my breath. Solid ground was at least a 100 meters below. I was never one to be scared of heights but the distance made me take a step back in surprise.

"No need to be scared," Tobias said.

"Yeah December you're not a little girl anymore I can't hold your hands whenever you get scared," Brise jeered.

I stepped forward and stared over the edge again. Soon it would shrink to a meter, I made myself believe. "Let's get on with the tour."

Tobias led us across the rickety rope bridge towards a building that encircled a tree and seemed bigger than the rest. The houses were either built against the tree or on branches. There were too many to count and seemed to go on and on the further the trees grew. Though somewhere along the way, there was a prominent gap between the houses above and those below. We seemed to be on the first level of houses.

"So where are you girls from?" Tobias quizzed.

"Dairon," Brise said.

"Hedge," I said at the same time.

Tobias perked a brow.

"We travel a lot," Brise lied, "we're originally from Dairon but we lived in Hedge for a while."

He nodded and didn't add anything. "Can I ask how you girls lost your parents?"

"Killed," Brise said.

"Sick," I said.

Tobias stopped and regarded us. "Are you two really sisters?"

Brise and I exchanged glances. For people as different as us we seemed to understand each other quite well. She gave me permission to speak on her behalf. "We have different dads. Our mom had two husbands. As you can tell, we don't look that much alike. Her father was killed, mine got sick and our mom was a drunk who ran off with a noble man so sometimes we don't really include her. For so long it's just been us."

"Ok Toby," Brise grunted, "you've asked enough questions, now let me ask you something, where the hell are we?"

Tobias didn't answer immediately. "This is no ordinary forest as you can clearly see. This was once a graveyard, a giant graveyard."

"This is sacred ground," Brise said, the accusation evident in her voice.

Tobias nodded serenely. "This is the burial site of my ancestors'."

Brise chortled. "You're a giant?"

We arrived at the big building's verandah. Tobias beamed as he stretched out his arms. "Magic is strange."

We entered the building to find the first floor littered with carts and barrels. Against the tree were little rectangular rooms with cage like doors. In one side of the room stood a desk cluttered by stacks of papers and books. The chair behind the desk was empty. But a noise that sounded awfully similar to snoring came from behind the desk. Tobias grunted as he stalked over there, bent over, picked up a scrawny, shaggy-haired boy and placed him in the chair. The boy blinked awake only to jolt to his feet a second later.

"Uncle," the boy gulped. "Uh I wasn't sleeping, I was just, well wait. It's not what it looks like."

"Mars," Tobias groaned. "Were you up there drawing the stars again?"

"It's mapping not drawing." Mars rolled his eyes. Then tittered. "I mean, no."

Tobias then began to lecture Mars about time management and then went on to explain that staring at the stars for too long would result in his nephew's sight being stolen by blood-thirsty fairies. They eventually stopped when one of the little rectangular rooms dropped and Tobias went to stare down the empty space left by the room. After a while, the room slowly returned to its place but it was now occupied by a young man with a hideous scar just below his eye that extended from one end of his face to the other and three nets, each filled by Lucius, Rowan and Philip.